Meet the Staff

Nick Beard, LLB, PhD
Nick Beard comes to the CSE after completing a doctorate in law and gender studies at the University of Sussex, focusing on the intersection of gender based violence and refugee law. She has previously volunteered as a public affairs and development intern with Planned Parenthood of Delaware and graduated from the University of Edinburgh and Trinity College Dublin. She volunteers on a rape crisis helpline and with the Abortion Support Network and lives in New Jersey with her Irish husband and English cat.

Ali Glaser, MSW, CSEAli is the Vice President of Community Services at PPNCSNJ and has 20 years of experience in the fields of youth development and prevention. Ali provides training in the areas of leadership, non-profit management, grant writing, teen pregnancy prevention, adolescent development, parent-child communication and self-care. Prior to joining Planned Parenthood in 2002, Ali worked at the national office of Big Brothers Big Sisters as a Senior Manager of Program Development and served as the Director of the Connecticut Mentoring Partnership, a statewide initiative of the Governor’s Prevention Partnership.

Ali is a Professor of Social Work at Rutgers University and has taught a variety of social work and human sexuality courses over the past decade. Additionally, she has developed several online professional training courses for the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. Ali holds leadership positions on several national and regional boards. She is the author of Developing a High School Mentor Program, a guide to utilizing high school students as mentors to younger children and is a contributing author to Unequal Partners.

Karen Rayne, PhDKaren is the sexuality education and training specialist for The Center for Sex Education. A curriculum development expert with more than two decades’ experience in sexuality education, Dr. Rayne is passionate about providing comprehensive sexuality education to people of all ages and stages with sensitivity and a touch of humor. Dr. Rayne has served as chair of the National Sex Ed Conference and Associate Editor of the American Journal for Sexuality Education. She is the author or editor of several teaching manuals, including Streetwise to Sex-wise: Sexuality Education for High Risk Youth, Orientation: Teaching about Identity, Attraction, and Behavior, two parent-child communication curricula (one for the Unitarian Universalist Association and one in conjunction with the United Nations Population Fund and the Zimbabwean Ministry of Health), and four youth-focused curriculum (three for Girls, Inc. and one for a federally funded project through Carnegie Mellon University). Dr. Rayne is also the author and co-author of a number of trade books, including GIRL: Love, Sex, Romance, and Being You, Help Your Kids with Adolescence, and Breaking the Hush Factor: Ten Rules for Talking with Teenagers about Sex.

Bill Taverner, MA, CSE
Bill is the executive director of the nationally acclaimed Center for Sex Education (CSE) and is the editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Sexuality Education. He has co-authored many sex ed teaching resources, including Making Sense of Abstinence; Older, Wiser, Sexually Smarter; Positive Images; Sex Ed 101; and eight editions of Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Human Sexuality. Bill served as editor-in-chief for the two-volume third edition of Teaching Safer Sex, which received the 2013 AASECT Book Award. A trainer of thousands throughout the United States, who has twice advocated for sexuality education at U.S. Congressional briefings, Bill has received other national awards recognizing his leadership in sexuality education: the first “Schiller Prize” given by the American Association for Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists for best workshop using interactive strategies; Planned Parenthood’s “Golden Apple Award” for leadership in education; a Sexual Intelligence award naming him named “one of the country’s pre-eminent sex educators, trainers, and sex education theorists,” and the “Golden Brick Award” for “encouraging the growth of sex ed professionals.”

Meet the Consultants

Tanya Bass
With over 20 years of public health education experience, Tanya is considered a subject matter expert in the areas of minority health, pregnancy prevention, HIV/STDs and reproductive/sexual health. She is an alumna of North Carolina Central University’s (NCCU) Department of Public Health Education, where she has served as an adjunct instructor for the past 10 years. Currently, Tanya is the lead instructor for Human Sexuality.

She is the former president for the North Carolina Society for Public Health Education (NCSOPHE) and former co-chair for the 2014 National Sex Ed Conference. Tanya is also a current member of the editorial board for the American Journal of Sexuality Education.

As a facilitator and trainer, audience members and training participants describe Tanya as “dynamic, energetic and captivating.” She is praised for her ability to connect with a multitude of audiences.

Tanya has provided training on Changes, Changes, Changes, a curriculum on puberty education.

Steve Brown, Psy.D.Steve is a clinical psychologist and Director of the Traumatic Stress Institute of Klingberg Family Centers (New Britain, CT). He also is Coordinator of the Risking Connection® training program, an international trauma training program used by organizations to implement trauma-informed services. His work bridges the fields of trauma, trauma-informed care, sexual violence prevention, and sexual health promotion. He is a longtime sexuality educator and trainer and co-author of Streetwise to Sex-Wise: Sexuality Education for High Risk Youth, a curricula used internationally by agencies and schools serving high risk youth. He is former board chair of Stop It Now!, a leading national child sexual abuse prevention organization.

Terri Clark, MPHTerri has been doing work in health education, training, and facilitation for nearly 25 years, and is currently the Coordinator of Prevention Services at Action Wellness in Philadelphia, PA. Terri is a member of Widener University’s Consortium on Sexuality and Aging. She is a certified trainer with the SAGE (Advocacy and Services for LGBT Elders) and serves on the American Society on Aging’s Leadership Council of their LGBT Aging Issues Network (LAIN) constituent group. She is also an advisory board member of Philadelphia Corporation for Aging’s Health and Wellness Committee.

Terri has extensive experience in the field of sexuality education and training, including HIV prevention and LGBT topics. She is currently working on a number of projects to advance the field of sexuality and aging. Throughout her career in public health, she has been an advocate for gender equality and sexual health across the lifecycle.

Terri is currently developing a new manual, Orientation, due out at the end of 2018.

Cassandra Corrado (she/her) is an independent sex educator and social media strategist based in the Southeastern United States. Formerly a victim advocate, her teaching areas focus in un/healthy relationships, violence prevention, and LGBTQ+ health. While an undergraduate, Cassandra founded a 24/7 relationship education resource center, institutionalized Sexual Assault Awareness Month programming, facilitated Title IX working groups, co-authored a best practices document for gender inclusivity in the classroom, co-authored a safe space training program, and taught a course in bystander intervention program development. When she isn’t teaching, you can find her at a park with her dog or curled up with a book.

Kirsten deFurKirsten is a sexuality educator and trainer specializing in utilizing sex-positive educational approaches, teaching about healthy and unhealthy relationships, and preventing sexual and intimate partner violence. A contributing author to the curricula Teaching Safer Sex, Sex Ed in the Digital Age and the American Journal of Sexuality Education, Kirsten writes lesson plans and develops curricula on topics such as sexual pleasure, pornography, fear-based methods, and consent. Kirsten has been facilitating workshops since 2001 in a variety of settings for participants of all ages, especially as an Our Whole Lives facilitator and trainer with the Unitarian Universalist Association. Kirsten is the co-author of the 2nd edition of Our Whole Lives for grades 4-6.

In her day job, Kirsten is the Assistant Director of Training & Prevention at Columbia University’s Sexual Violence Response & Rape Crisis/Anti-Violence Support Center. Prior to her position at Columbia, Kirsten directed a peer education program on dating violence and healthy relationships for the NYC Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence.

Kirsten received her Master of Public Health from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in Sexuality & Health. She enjoys the critical analysis of social and cultural constructs of sexuality with her sexuality-based book club, made up of sexuality professionals throughout NYC. She shares insights on topics related to sexuality education on her blog, www.fearlesssexualityeducator.com and tweets with the handle @FearlessSexEd. Kirsten lives in Brooklyn, NY and brings as much enthusiasm to cooking, biking, and cats as she does to sexuality education.

Melissa Keyes DiGioia, CSEMelissa is a Certified Sexuality Educator by the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists. As Co-Founder and Director of Education at Finding Your Individuality (FYI, LLC), she facilitates professional development workshops and education sessions on varying sexuality and sexual health topics and specializes in program delivery for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Melissa is author of Taking a Special Education Approach a guide for religious educators implementing Our Whole Lives Sexuality Education for Grades 7-9(2nd Ed.)to adapt lessons and methodology for audiences with special needs. She is coauthor of Game On! The Ultimate Sexuality Education Gaming Guide and contributing author to Unequal Partners: Teaching about Power and Consent in Adult-Teen and Other Relationships (3rd Ed), Older Wiser Sexually Smarter, and Teaching Safer Sex (Volumes 1 & 2). She has a graduate certificate in Human Sexuality from Montclair State University and received her BA with concentrations in Psychology and Women’s and Gender Studies from The College of New Jersey. She serves as co-chair for the 2015 & 2016 AASECT Annual Conferences.

Ms. Tracie Q. Gilbert is an educator and project manager, having specialized in youth and adolescent development for nearly 20 years. She is currently a Doctoral Candidate with the Center for Human Sexuality Studies at Widener University; her topics of interest include adolescent sexuality development, sexuality and faith, and social justice-based sexuality education.

Tracie’s work with CSE includes a re-vamping of sexuality education curriculum for Girls, Inc., a federal intervention project, and a manual on sexual orientation, all currently in the works.

Corbin Knight-Dixon, MS is a sexuality educator, trainer, and administrator based in New York City. With over a decade of experiece working with professionals, adults, and young people; Corbin is committed to providing shame-free, inclusive, and participant-centered sex education. Corbin manages continuing education for the Center for Sex Education (CSE) and the National Sex Education Conference. Outside of the CSE, Corbin works for Planned Parenthood of New York City as the Associate Director of Adult and Professional Programs. He also teaches human sexuality at Bronx Community College, where he is as an adjunct instructor. Corbin earned his MS in Health Communication and BA in Music from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Mary Lyn Koval is president of Claremont House, an editorial and marketing services company she founded in 1998. Mary Lyn has three decades’ experience in marketing communications and project management, with a background in professional services marketing, online publishing, book publishing and exhibit graphics. Her broad expertise includes editorial oversight, content development, copyediting, production management, and brand development and implementation.

A volunteer for Planned Parenthood since 1996, Mary Lyn served on the board of PPGNNJ (now PPCGNNJ) from 1999 to 2005.

Meet the Volunteers

Steph Auteri has written about women’s health, sexuality, and sex ed for the Atlantic, Pacific Standard, VICE, the Washington Post, and other publications. She’s an editor for both Simplemost and Good in Bed, and also nerds out about books at Book Riot. Her book, A DIRTY WORD, is forthcoming from Cleis Press in Fall 2018. You can learn more at stephauteri.com.